Vol. 535 No. 3
57 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the plans she has to carry out an investigation into remuneration levels of directors of major Irish public companies; if she has satisfied herself with the current requirements regarding disclosure of such remuneration packages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12196/01]
In March 1999 I indicated that I was in favour of full disclosure of directors' remuneration as it would provide greater transparency in the governance of corporate affairs here. Following intensive discussions, the Stock Exchange amended its rules and, with effect from financial periods beginning on or after 1 January 2000, the exchange requires publicly quoted companies to disclose directors' remuneration on an individual basis.
The consequence of that rule change is becoming evident. The concerns raised by the Association of Investment Managers appear to centre on the correlation between the remuneration paid to directors and the performance of companies. This is one of the issues that potential investors assess in making decisions to invest in companies. I have no current plans to intervene in this area.
The company law review group received no submissions on directors' remuneration in response to its public advertisements in February 2000 or February 2001.
